From loss to legacy: How one friendship is helping 50 couples find hope

Some acts of kindness leave a lasting legacy of love and support…

We feel incredibly privileged to share our clients’ stories on our website. Many are deeply moving – shaped by trauma and loss, and told in equal parts, with grief and love. 

So when Sarah and Katie, mums to their beloved daughter Marnie, who was stillborn at 37 weeks last year, got back in touch to share a story of hope and kindness, it felt especially meaningful – and important- to share. 

Inspired by their experience of losing Marnie, their story speaks powerfully to the impact of friendship and finding hope after loss. 

The greatest gift

On 11th April 2026, what would have been Marnie’s first birthday, Sarah and Katie received a card from their friend Lisa. What they found inside turned a difficult day of remembrance into something incredibly powerful: a gift in memory of Marnie that will help dozens of other families find hope after loss. 

That gift came in the form of an extraordinary £25,000 donation to Petals, secured by Lisa through her company’s charitable trust, the Gordon Brothers Foundation, an independent charitable organization run by Gordon Brothers’ employees.

“We were lost for words,” Sarah and Katie told us. “Knowing the difference that such generosity can make in helping other bereaved parents find the support and compassion we ourselves have received means more than we can express. 

This past year, Petals has been a lifeline as we’ve learned to navigate life without our baby. Their care and understanding have carried us through our darkest moments, and for that, we are endlessly grateful.” 

Lisa said: “I am proud of the resilience Katie and Sarah have shown over the last year, with help from Petals, and wanted to do something to honour their baby girl, Marnie.” 

A huge impact

“This unbelievable act of kindness, arriving on Marnie’s birthday, has been the most precious gift,” Sarah and Katie added. “Though Marnie is not with us, we remain forever changed by her. It brings us such comfort to know that her short life continues to make an impact on others.” 

“We want to extend our heartfelt thanks to Lisa and the Gordon Brothers Foundation for this incredible gift.” 

– Sarah and Katie, Marnie’s mums. 

This donation will ensure 50 couples can access Petals’ specialist counselling, creating a lasting legacy of love and hope in Marnie’s memory, and a beautiful example of how showing up for bereaved friends can have a profound impact not just on one family, but so many. 

Thank you from all of us at Petals, to Lisa, the Gordon Brothers Foundation, Sarah, and Katie for sharing this moving story, and of course, Marnie.